Out Of Nothing At All
by SmexySephi
Summary: Lee and Ino are on their very first ANBU mission.  Circumstances and now the two are alone spending much needed time together [LeeIno songfic]
1. Chapter 1

**Out Of Nothing At All**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters (Ino, Lee, Tenten), titles (ANBU), or landmarks (Konoha).**

Finally she made it into ANBU! After training for years and getting the utter tar beaten out of her on ten plus occasions, Ino Yamanaka had finally surpassed Sakura and made it to the ranks with Sasuke. The bliss of finally making it to the big times blinded Ino in a way that would make Sakura just dandy that Ino was in ANBU and not her: she was partnered up with Rock Lee. Rock Lee. Bushy-browed complete dork who falls all over himself Rock Lee. While Sasuke was sportting around a couple of cheeky "bimbos," as Ino puts it. Sure, she really did feel for him a few years back when there was a strong possibility Rock Lee would either die or never become a shinobi, but still! A girl has her limits, right?

"Okay, squad ten please come over here!" cried poor, pathetic Lee, waving his arms in the air to gain attention through the crowd of ANBU members figuring out their squads and missions. Ino sighed, and drug her feet over to the yelling nerd. "Ah, Miss Yamanaka! Glad you could make it!"

"Yeah," another half-hearted sigh, "I'm here."

"Heyy! Lee-kun!" Cried a female voice from behind. There was Tenten, waving her arm like her former team mate did just moments before. "Lee-kun! I'm in squad ten!"

"No way Tenten!! That's awesome!" He gave her his signature smile along with a friendly thumbs-up.

"Oh gawd, it starts..."

"Hey Ino," Tenten smiled. Now, Ino didn't have a problem with Tenten, not at all. But there was no need to encourage Lee, as far as she saw, and with her superior attitude, she saw plenty far.

"Hey Ten', how's it going?"

"Great! You two know each other! Let's get moving!" Lee marched proudly forward ahead of his female team mates. Tenten followed behind, admiringly blushing. Ino grunted, and truggedly followed.

Night fall came all too fast, and that was when things get tricky. Tenten looked over at Lee in his monkey mask through her cat mask, and at Ino in her fox mask.

"Alright girls, the enemy's base is right down this hill, inside that house."

House? Looked more like a castle, and with that Ino began to day dream. "Must be nice..." She snapped out of it when her two fellow ANBU members shot her some strange looks. "What?" They jumped from the tree branch where they were just perched upon, and started moving swiftly through the forest. It didn't take long before they were discovered by the hidden ninja and jumped. Lee thought quick on his feet, and lunged a few paper bombs at their mysterious foes, scattered screams and bodies disappearing in smoke. The group ran forward while their current enemies were fallen, heading straight for the base when disaster struck: Tenten stepped right into a mine. A rather small one in all fairness, but just big enough to deal some damage. She fell to her left side with a cry, and her friends came to her aid.

"Tenten!" Lee rummaged through his bag, trying desperately not to look at the bloody mess, but failing.

"Tenten, hold on," Ino allowed the blown up girl to rest her head in her arms, "Lee! In my bag, there's some flares; we need help!"

Mechanically, Lee dig there Ino's bag and found the flares. He lit them up, and setted them off while Ino ripped off some extra cloth from her outrageously big shirt and began to wrap Tenten's leg. Or what she could wrap. The explosion took most of her skin and flesh not only off of her right leg, but chunks were missing from her side and right around her arm pit. She had already passed out from the pain and loss of blood.

"Ino! I have a first aid kit-"

"That won't work Lee! The cloth isn't big enough and the medicines are only for scrapes and poison." She looked down at her poor shirt, half of it missing and the majority of Tenten's wounds were still open and draining blood. "Lee, you gotta rip off some of your shirt, she's bleeding fast." He did as he was told, and Ino went right back to work on her fallen commerade. In the distance they could hear the sounds of what they hoped were other Konoha ANBU coming to help, but the footsteps where still far away. Tenten began to come around, her head dangling from left to right on Ino's lap.

"Wh...what happen?"

"Hold on Tenten!" called Lee reassuringly, "The others are coming to help." From above she could see Ino, who's once white armor now a thick crimson working almost hypnotically with the best of her abilities.

"Ino..."

"Don't speak, just rest." Ino snuck her hand around the inside of her armor, desperate for more cloth, but nothing. She surely couldn't ask Lee for any, as he only had his pants left. "You're very lucky Tenten." she smiled down at her scared and shaken friend.

"..."

"That's right, not only did the land mine not take your leg and your life, but Lee here gave up his entire shirt to bandage up your wounds. Considering that's a pretty good omen, at least in my book, I believe you're gonna be just fine."

Tenten managed to produce a faint smile on her lips, then rested some more, her brow pressed against Ino's exposed arm. Lee looked over at Ino, red painted across his face. It was true, just in a split second Ino began to look at Lee in a different light, that he didn't always try to put on a circus act and be the hero just as his sensei, Gai, did. He was panicky at first, out of sorts, but he regained his composure and did exactly as Ino said. Okay, maybe this is painting a pretty elaborate picture, more elaborate than the case, but it was enough. It was enough to make Ino smile, though the twerp still bugged her to a higher power, and she still saw him as a geek. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, _anything_ to her, their commerades came to the rescue and the moment passed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Out Of Nothing At All**

The ANBU came at long last, and inspected Tenten's damaged body. The grimace expressions on their faces didn't paint a pretty picture. Lee just stared back and forth, from Ino to Tenten, holding the cold pocelain mask in his hands which he had be doing since the trouble started. He found himself mostly staring at Ino, and when he felt she was about to look over, quickly turned his head. She did see him gawking with concern for her, suppose Lee was just like that, worrying about others, and she never knew. She stared down at her own mask, fiddling it in her hands.

"Well guys," a black op walked over, "We gotta take her back to the village immediately."

"Wait!" Lee cried, "Can't we just see her off?"

The black op looked at him for a moment, "You can say goodbye, but then it's back to the mission."

_Back to the mission_, Ino thought. _Is it ever that easy? _The whole ordeal brought back painful memories of not too long ago, when Asuma-sensi passed away, right in front of her. The two walked up to their battered friend, and Ino took her hand.

"I'm sorry...guys..." she whispered. "I wish I could"

"Bite your tongue," Ino interrupted, a skill she was good at according to Shikamaru. "you did great! Don't worry about us, just get better okay?" She realized it wasn't just Lee Ino grew closer to, but Tenten as well. With Tenten being a little older, there wasn't much of a chance for the two to bond. But now, a bond that felt like electricity grew within Ino and Tenten that nothing or no one could replace.

"Yes Tenten, just get better." He smiled.

"...Thank you...for helping me..." The black ops decided that was enough, and shoved Ino and Lee to the side as they frisked Tenten away. They continued their journey forward to the base, in silence. Despite being able to see the base clearly in the tree tops, it was still some time before the made it. There was no rush in either of them, though.

"Ino,"

"Yes Lee?"

"Are you...alright?"

"...Yes Lee," her gaze shifted back to her feet as they toppled the muddy path. "Lee are you-"

"I'm fine!" Lee said abruptly. The fatigue and flushed skin on his face told a much different story, as it darkend under his eyes. Ino caught up to Lee's pace, until they were shoulder and shoulder. She examined his face more clearly now, and saw how different it was from the evening before, when he was calling out to squad ten and waving his hands in the air, same goofy smile. The face pained her. What!? Of course it didn't! After all, he was a nerd and she was the Konoha beauty queen three years in a row. They weren't even in the same social class and yet the pangs in her chest felt all too real.

"Don't kid yourself..."

He collapsed. Right then and there, as if there were a switch on the inside of his body, and his Inner Lee decided enough was enough and flipped that switch. At first it stunned her, she didn't move but had to first register the image of this boy falling to his knees, sinking into the soft mud. She knelt down beside him.

"..."

"Well?" he looked at her, catching her emerald eyes, almost expecting some kind of song and dance to cheer him up.

"..."

"...We've known each other since before we became genin. She was always so nice to me even though I was picked on alot for looking weird or not being able to do ninjutsu." There was a pause, and as if Heaven had sympathy for him as well, it began to rain. Ino never moved, still kneeling in the mud and waiting for him to speak. The falling rain developed a mist, and from Lee's stand point, the combination of the green of the forest and the hazy mist brought out Ino's beautiful eyes, and he was mesmerized. "She's a good friend, just a good friend, and I don't know what I'd do if..."

She laid her pale white hand on his back, giving his shoulder a comforting squeeze. What was there to say? She believes Tenten will be fine, but you can't change the way other people think. Especially men.

"I know how it is to be afraid," she whispered through his rain soaked black hair and into his ear, "but..." She was at a loss for words. Here she started to get somewhere with Lee, hoping to come up with something to comfort him, but had nothing. And though she went through a similar situation with Asuma-sensei only monthes back, she still had nothing. How could she walk away from Asuma-sensei's death without anything to show for it?

Lee chuckled, and Ino eyes shot open from within her thoughts, "Don't worry,"

"About what?"

"About saying anything to make me feel better." Did he just loose his mind?! Ino stared at him with amazement. Most people, herself included, always wanted a friend there to say something inspirational and get two pints of rocky road ice cream right out of the carton. She had that once. "It's better than hearing some sappy phrase that doesn't work," he stood up, "A pat on the shoulder is good enough." he smiled that same goofing, irritating smile with his girly red cheeks that always annoyed her. Sometimes even infuriate her. But all it did this time was make her grin from ear to ear, and while she tried to stop herself, she couldn't. It was as if a force within Lee was emitting brain-control waves onto Ino, like in Choji's stupid space stories. She stood next to him, looking at him, preparing herself if he decides to lose it again. "Thank you Ino," he took her hand, lifted it to his mouth, and gave it a prince-like kiss, flushing the red to her cheek. "I never got to kiss a real beauty queen..."

It was quiet, yet again. The rain ceased, and the three o'clocksun was over head, beating on Lee and Ino through humidity. She dragged her forearm across her forehead miserably, having taking off her mask ages ago for the heat it released. Now she was starting to feel like the old Ino again, and brought up her not-so-impressive quirks.

"Gaaawwwd!! It's too hot..." You'd think after losing half of her black shirt things would be cooler, but alas it was not so.

"I didn't realize how hot it was going to be, or else I would've brought more water..."

"Yeah if onl-wait a sec! More water? I didn't even know you had any water!" Angrily, she ran in front of Lee, eyes glaring into his, "Have you been holding out on me!?"

"N-no Ino! I just sorta drank it before we left on the mission. I was kinda nervous and..." she wrapped the shirt under his armor around her fists.

"A likely story! How do I know you're not a demon desguised as the real Lee!?" His look snapped her out of this cockamamy deluision she cooked up inside her tired and heat-ridden mind. _C'mon Ino!_ she shouted mentally, _Get real! _"Sorry Lee..."

"Heh, don't sweat it. Hey! Sweat it, get it?" He laughed full and loud at his own cheesey pun. _Oh brother..._

Suddenly, as she shook her head at this laughing bafoon, an image came from the corner of her eye. She turned to see they were practically in the backyard of the base. Score! "Lee! Shut up and look!"

"Whoa...so we're here..."

"Yes! We're so close to finishing this mission, then we can go home and relax!"

"Yeah..." They tiptoed further backwards from the house, back enough so they can stake it out, but close enough to infiltrate it when the time was right. Unfortunately, it was a little pass three in the afternoon, and the orders stated that they must attack at night fall. So they made sure to get comfortable for at least seven more hours.


	3. Chapter 3

**Out Of Nothing At All**

Three hours passed four more to go. Ino tallied up the time passed and remaining with twigs, like a prisoner does where he's been locked up for so long.

"No activity so far..." reported Lee. He scanned the building several times every minute with his binoculars, studying the surroundings.

"Lee, you don't need those to just_ look _at the place, just when you think something is going down that you can't see." She was getting frustrated. Lee was so punctual at times it made her want to just shake him until he snapped out of it.

"Yes, but these will increase my vision as it is starting to grow dark." He had a point, she hated to admit. But it still annoyed her to a higher power.

"No matter what you see or don't see we're still invading at ten tonight."

"Hush Ino, I hear something..."

Hush? _Hush!?_ Did some man she hardly knew just tell her to be quiet? Not on her watch, not while her hair was still blonde and her voice was still noisy and loud.

"Rock Lee! I never--" he clasped a hand over her mouth.

"Seriously, I think someone's coming..." Ino was tough, but when it came to times like this where it felt like she was in some bad horror movie, she cracks. She broke free from Lee's hold, and wrapped her arms around his waist, eyes closed tight. The sound crept closer, and even Ino heard it this time. Her grasp on Lee's torso grew stronger, her eyes squinting tighter together. She felt the air of someone, not knowing who or where it came from, lay on her back. Well, that was enough for Ino Yamanaka, and she let out a blood curdling scream that probably woke up the first Hokage from his grave, and wrapped her arms around her head, trembling. "Ino!" shouted Lee, "That was just my arm!" She looked up, embarrassed to the core.

"O-ohhh..."

"The sound turned out to be a squirrel,"

"Why didn't you say something before!?"

He blushed, "Sorry,"

_Aw man, he tried to make a pass at me_...a chill went up her spine. First he kisses her hand, then he gives her chills!? Where on God's green Earth was this going? Another noise perked from behind her, and Ino jumped back into Lee's all too welcoming arms. He smiled.

At last the remaining four hours departed, and the moment of truth surfaced. Needless to say the butterflies in Ino's stomach were doing the tango and had no chance of stopping any time soon. How could Lee stay so calm, cool, and collective? He stood beside her like a beacon of hope, like her rock or pillar, and somehow she knew with him by her side she would be fine. _Okay Ino, you're getting a little carried away..._

They packed in their kunai, stars, paper bombs, and medicines, ready for the task ahead. In unison, they crept over to the left, taking precaution with every step. The mission seemed simple enough, that's what Ino convinced herself of when she first heard of it a month ago. Just blow up the joint and take down anyone that got in their way. Before anyone could give this mission a second thought (and Ino was second guessing through and through) the enemy ninja began barreling towards bushy brow and the whiner. They jumped as kunai sped past this faces. As the kunai landed on the soften ground, small explosions erupted, causing Ino and Lee to project ahead while still in mid air. Landing safely, Ino reached into one of her several hidden pockets and began to thrust stars at the men in black whom were much bigger than her frame, while Lee began to set the explosives in the proper order on the roof. The stars weren't fazing the bad guys, and slowly Ino began to creep into their corner. On a whim, she reached into her pocket and took out a scroll. Jumping to the sky, the scroll unraveled around her body, releasing the technique Tenten showed her: Twin Rising Dragons. From nowhere, weapons of all kinds plunged from the scroll, spiraling straight toward the enemies. They dived, but were unsuccessful as the sharp weapons dove deep into their flesh on various locations. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for all the ninja, and the others hurdled towards her, thinking it best to take out the weaker one first. She tried intensely to defend herself, throwing kunai, what was left of her stars, and paper bombs, but all in vein as the ninja seemed to pour out more with every second. She panicked as she reached into her pockets to find nothing. All she could think of was falling to her knees, again, and wrapping her arms around her head, waiting for whatever they had in store. Regardless of years of training, battles, and tests on fighting, all of it seemed to disintegrate from the corners of her memory, and all she wanted to do was hide. The bigger of the ninja raised a mighty biffed arm included with a knife, and raced it towards Ino's head when a swift kick to the face prevented the bully from doing so. It was Rock Lee! The ninja that just couldn't let any pretty girl be harmed. He almost seemed like a green super hero as he came crashing down on Ino's offender. Once the two hit the surface, Lee still on his feet, he swooped up Ino by her waist and took off.

"Lee! What's going on!?"

"The bomb's going off in just a minute!" And as sure as the day is long, the building and everyone around it within range blew sky high in a million pieces. Lee and Ino made it out just in time, and when they made it to a clearing of grass in the forest, the two fell to their behind, panting. "We did it!" cried Lee with glee and Ino didn't even mind this time. She sprung to her feet and threw her arms around Lee's shoulders, and the both of them danced around in a circle of celebration. Score one for the boys back in Konoha! After the excitement and dance wore down, the ANBU ninja noticed the arms of the other wrapped loving around their body. They backed off, blushing, and decided it was time to go home. The whole way home the giddy teenagers regaled the events of the evening as the morning sun rose in the east from it's nights sleep.

"That wasn't nearly as bad as I thought!" Ino began to skip and hop down the path towards home, happy that the place blew up and that she was still in one piece to talk about it.

"Yeah, but it still was a close one..." he yawned, beat from the excitement. Yawning is contagious, and Ino found herself in the same breathing pattern. "Maybe we should camp out and sleep somewhere, after all we finished ahead of schedule."

She shrugged, "Sure, why not." Though something bothered her in the back of her mind, like a gnat that insists on becoming your shadow for your new perfume. The excitement was over, as was the mission, and all that was left to think of was what would become of Lee and Ino once they reached Konoha. After all, there are no permanent squads in ANBU, and more likely than not they would be devised into different groups come next mission. And what with being grown, and having other responsibilities and jobs, would they ever have time for each other. Ino wanted so badly to just date Lee at the most, explore these new feelings of her's, but knew that it couldn't work out, and to keep Lee at arms length for the remaining journey home. How, she did not know.

Hopefully, they will both sleep for a while then have nothing else to say to each other on the way home. He looked over his shoulder, staring at the long blonde ponytail and the nicely trim body that accompanied it. He remember the way that body felt when to ran to his arms at every sound the forest made, how it felt to hold it and knowing she wanted to be held, unlike his many attempts with Sakura where he would try to hug her only to be slapped in the face. No girl ever wanted that from him, although Tenten seemed more than willing, and that fact was pretty obvious. It was a whole new ball park when you wanted it from another person, and they feel the same emotion. He turned back, back to preparing his sleep bag.

She preached to herself, in her mind, not to make that move, not to say anything, but it was an involuntary action, "Lee..." she positioned her self to half-way face him.

"Yes?" He looked back at her with anticipation. In the blink of an eye, Ino was much closer now, still in front of him. She placed her dainty, pale hand on his somewhat tanned cheek, leaving him in full shock. She rubbed the smooth surface, as if she were blind and wanted to remember the way his face felt, every curve. In a way, though, she did want to remember. Lee was soothed by this touch, and closed his eyes, his fingers barely gracing the back of her hand. She, too, closed her eyes, the manly musk of his body taking over by her nostrils, absorbed by her body. Slowly, she slid her fingers from his face, and both opened their eyes. He just couldn't get enough of her emerald green eyes, how beautiful they sparkled in the dawn's sun. As she sat on her knees, upper body bent forward, her chest flexed outward towards him, making her all the more desirable. No one said a word, and soon enough they parted, and crawled in each of their sleeping bags, flustered from what just went down between them.

Lee couldn't sleep though, and he physically and mentally exhausted body cried for it. A war was raging in his pants, and as any man will vouch, it's hard to calm that part of their body without some action. Here he was, twenty years old, and only slept with a woman once, and that was a hooker Naruto jokingly "bought" him for his eight-teenth birthday. That was it. Could have been more enjoyable if the woman wasn't in her mid-forties. _She was the only one left!_ Naruto's words from that night still echoed in his ears. Yeah right. He rolled over to his left side, and watched Ino sleep, her back facing him and her slow breathing rhythm visible. He wondered what possessed her to reach out and touch his face like that. Before the mission started, she couldn't stand him, and suddenly within a few hours she began acting different towards him. Women, why bother trying to figure them out?

Ino, in fact, was wide awake just like Lee. She tried to make sense of what has happend to her the past two days or so. She thought it was just wishful thinking, wanting a man, any man, to be close to. Perhaps the feelings she thought she had towards Lee were just false. She has been tripping' up when it came to boyfriends. Shikamaru fell head over heels for Temari, and the couple was away for a romantic weekend. Then Sasuke, a guy she's been crushing on for what seems like an eternity is dating Hinata Hyuga, while he allows common trailer trash floosies hang all over him. She still clung to hope that at least one of the two guys would come to their senses and leave their partners for her, like a damsel in distress. Who was she kidding, though? She was a snob, a brat, and whined alot, a guy would have to be a damned fool to take up a relationship with someone like her. That's the conclusion she came up with, as she laid there in the early morning. The thought brought tears to her eyes and sobs through her throat. Lee perked up at the noise, and sat up from his sleeping bag.

"Ino?"

Stunned, she wiped vigorously at her eyes and took in a deep breath, "Huh?"

"Are you alright?" He now began to unzip his sleeping bag to go take a look.

"Not another move Lee..." she whimpered, her attempts at making it sound strong and serious failed.

"Ino..."

She wiped again, "I'm just going through a rough time..."

"What is it?"

She rolled her eyes, like she was going to tell him how she was a damn idiot. How she was a loser in love, and how she would never meet anyone to satisfy her mother's need to throw her only daughter's wedding. But she did anyway. The words spilled through her mouth like water from a faucet, her high hopes for at least making it with Shikamaru just to get kicked in the face quite literally by Temari, and how most of the men she's ever dated or was just in the same company told her she was too high maintenance for their liking. That even Choji had a girlfriend and her mother's constant reminders of how she's not getting any younger and needs to look for a man to settle down with fast. It poured out of her, every ache and pain, and all the while she kept her back to Lee. When she was through, she hesitantly turned over to Lee, and saw the concern spread all across his face. She figured it was fake, and that she just bored him.

"Sorry..."

He scooted across the now dry dirt, closer to her. Finally it was his turn. He, just as she did before, placed a hand on her cheek, and caressed it more than she did to him. She couldn't take it anymore. She didn't care what the future may or may not hold for them if they started a relationship. Thrusting her body towards him, she pressed her lips against his lovingly. _What are you doing Ino!? _she screamed mentally, _You're not ready for this! _Or was she? It sure did feel right, they way he didn't reject her pass, the way his large and comforting arms spread across her body, protecting her from has certainly been hurting her for years, to show her he would be here, or anywhere else she needed him. It was broad daylight, but neither cared. The time had come, and if they had an audience, where it be a passer by or an animal, well, let them watch. The moment was here, and Ino would be damned to Hell if she ever thought of ever letting it pass her by.


End file.
